1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of consumer electronics and more particularly to electronic devices that include mutable alarms.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Many electronic devices include alarm functions that can be muted. Examples include cell phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs) and gaming devices. In the case of cell phones, for instance, one type of alarm function is an incoming call signal. An alarm of the incoming call signal can be either an audible ringer or a vibrational ringer. Many cell phones allow the user to switch between the audible ringer and the vibrational ringer. Another alarm function that is common amongst electronic devices is a calendared event reminder that activates the alarm upon the calendared event. Another common alarm function is a count-down timer that triggers the alarm after a predetermined time has elapsed.
Typically, electronic devices allow the audible alarms to be muted because such alarms are unwelcome in various environments. Thus, users commonly mute their electronic devices upon entering meetings, theaters, courtrooms, and so forth. A common experience for users of electronic devices, unfortunately, is a missed call or meeting because the user forgot to remove the mute from the alarm function once it was no longer necessary. Therefore, what is needed is a way to automatically remove the mute function from alarm functions.